‘Jammin’ on First Street’ Unites Little Tokyo, Boyle Heights

“Jammin’ on First Street” will take place on Saturday, April 16, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Casa 0101, 2102 E. First St. in Los Angeles.

The fundraiser is co-presented by Casa 0101 Theater, which has established itself as a leading cultural center on Los Angeles’ East Side, presenting plays, arts education classes for youth and adults and art exhibits featuring emerging and established Angeleno artists; and Arts 4 City Youth, a nonprofit founded in 1993 by Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara, whose mission is to create access to professional music mentoring for underserved youth on the East Side and beyond.

Nobuko Miyamoto

This event will bring legendary Japanese American and Latino artists together to highlight and celebrate the historical decades-long friendship between these two communities.

Live music will be performed by:

• Martha from Quetzal with “The Great Sandino.”

• Nobuko Miyamoto and The Generations, featuring “Atomic” Nancy Matoba, Carla Vega, Jumakae, and Asiyah Ayubbi with special guest Maceo Hernández (East L.A. Taiko), directed by Dan Kwong.

• The Arts 4 City Youth Trio, featuring Robert Abalos, performing original songs from “Dance with Me, Fera,” directed by Guevara.

Ruben Guevara

Guevara will also read from his award-winning short story “Yuriko & Carlos,” set in Boyle Heights, Little Tokyo and Manzanar from 1940 to 1945.

There will be a silent art auction by Angeleno masters Carlos Almaraz, David Botello, Sandra Cornejo, Ofelia Esparza, Diane Gamboa, Margaret Garcia, Wayne Alaniz Healy, Gilbert “Magu” Luján, José Montoya, Maria Isabel Ramos, George Rodriguez, Sandy Rodriguez, Sonia Romero, Shizu Saldamando, Francesco X. Siqueiros, and Jaime “Germs” Zacarias.

Tickets are $25 general, $20 for seniors and Boyle Heights and Little Tokyo residents, $10 for students. For reservations, call (323) 263-7684 or go to www.casa0101.org.